Bharti Airtel to double 4G base stations by next year

NEW DELHI: Country’s top operator Bharti Airtel is planning to double the number of its 4G base stations to total 40,000 by next fiscal as it gears up to expand the next-generation network.

"We have decided to roll out (4G). We have 20,000 base stations now, in March, and we will be doing another 20,000 next year," Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said on the sidelines of Mobile World Congress.

The company, which has an investment outlay of $3 billion a year on networks, is gearing up to compete with Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio, which is about to launch its 4G networks.

"Funding is not a constraint. Every year we are spending $3 billion into networks other than spectrum. Our roll-outs of 3G, 2G are the most expensive roll-out in the country," he said.

Talking about its partnership with China Mobile , Mittal said: "In my view, in 12 months time you will have $100 smartphones. You already have $100 smartphones. What I am saying is it should be multi-mode, multi-band. Customer says give me good speed, good quality network so if he drops from 4G, he must connect to 3G and if he drops from 3G he must connect to 2G.”.

He said the partnership with China Mobile gives Airtel an "economy of scale" and it will be able to lower its capital expenditure significantly.